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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: How to Deal with a Merchant Guild. Part 2
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The day after Mujin arrived at the Pungyang Merchant Guild.
Two warriors with grim faces began to loiter around the textile street of Ssangnyu.
The appearance of the two men, their faces and martial attire radiating a dangerous aura, cast an even darker shadow over the already gloomy textile street.
-Looks like the Cheongmu Textile Shop hired more warriors.
-This is bad. The street's already deserted because of them, not even an ant in sight, let alone a customer...
-Shh! Keep your voice down. If they hear you, there'll be trouble.
The merchants on the textile street bolted their doors and hid themselves away.
Striding confidently through the area, the two warriors entered the Muryeong Merchant Guild's textile shop, which had been closed for some time, located across from the Cheongmu Textile Shop.
As soon as they arrived, the shop's owner, his arms and head wrapped in bandages, came out and opened the doors for the first time in a long while.
The doors of the Muryeong Merchant Guild's largest textile shop on Ssangnyu's textile street were now open.
It had been a month and a half since he was beaten by the warriors guarding the Cheongmu Textile Shop and carried off to a clinic.
Watching from across the street, the owner of the Cheongmu Textile Shop smirked.
"I was wondering what move they'd make, and they chose to shoot themselves in the foot."
Their initial plan in opening the Cheongmu Textile Shop was to pressure those in Ssangnyu who sided with the Yeomhwa Family, including the Muryeong Merchant Guild.
"No matter how desperate they are, how can they fight fire with fire? The flames are of completely different sizes."
Exuding an aura far too sharp for a simple shop owner, he looked at the warriors standing by the door as soon as he finished speaking.
At his signal, four warriors started walking toward the shop across the street.
Watching the four warriors stride toward them, Cheol-muk and No-sak recalled their conversation with Mujin.
-Act like street thugs, as much as possible.
-How do we do that?
-... Just act like you normally do. Don't worry about what I think.
-Yes, sir!
"Hey, you bastards. Where do you think you're swarming?"
No-sak's scowling words made the confidently approaching warriors flinch and halt.
They couldn't possibly be ignorant of who they were, so their bold attitude suggested they had some kind of backing.
His posture, leaning on one leg while tapping his iron staff on the ground and glaring, was that of a common street ruffian, but his face was so menacing up close that it was far from approachable.
One of the four warriors glanced back at the owner of the Cheongmu Textile Shop.
-What are you doing? I am right behind you!
As if emboldened by those words, the four warriors started walking again.
The warriors closed in on Cheol-muk and No-sak.
"I don't know what kind of back-alley scum you are, but your ugly mugs are scaring the other merchants. Get lost while I'm asking nicely."
At the words of the oldest-looking warrior, the owner of the Muryeong textile shop trembled inside.
His bones, broken by these same men before, had not yet fully healed, and he spoke in a terrified, barely audible voice.
"Th-they are here for my protection. It's... none of your business, is it?"
"What, didn't he get beaten enough?"
*Clang!*
No-sak's iron staff blocked the warrior who tried to step inside.
"You sons of bitches, when I tell you to piss off, you should listen. Got something stuck in your ears? Brother, what should we do?"
As the warriors scowled at No-sak's harsh words, Cheol-muk answered.
"Warn them one more time. If they still don't listen... it's obstruction of business. We'll have to break their limbs."
At Cheol-muk's words, No-sak tilted his head and spoke.
"You heard my brother. Leave while we're being nice. Or we'll break your limbs."
Leaning in close as he spoke, the warriors exchanged telepathic messages.
-They're definitely a bunch of thugs. He must've been desperate for money to hire scum like this as guards. No need to watch any longer. Let's start.
"Looks like talking nicely won't work! Blame your own tongue!"
*Thwack!*
The warrior in front of No-sak, who had just spoken, punched him in the face.
The warrior's punch was clean, carrying the full weight of his lower body.
But the moment his fist connected with No-sak's face, he realized.
'He's no ordinary thug!'
An average man would have had his jaw shattered and been knocked flat by that blow, but instead, it was his own fist that throbbed with pain.
Unable to follow up, the warrior actually took a step back.
"Ptui! You definitely attacked first."
*Fwoosh!*
Spitting blood from his split lip onto the ground, No-sak swung his iron staff, adjusting his grip.
An authentic warrior's aura, completely absent until now, began to emanate from him and Cheol-muk.
!!!
No-sak and Cheol-muk advanced on the wide-eyed, faltering warriors.
To the four warriors, they seemed to loom as large as giants.
*Crack! Thud!*
No-sak's iron staff struck the shin of the warrior who had hit him, then slammed into his chest as he staggered.
With that seemingly effortless move, the warrior crumpled to the ground.
"Guh... uh..."
Ignoring the man's choked groan, No-sak raised his iron staff again.
*Clatter!*
*Thwack!*
Cheol-muk's arms moved with a clattering sound, and in an instant, two warriors collapsed to the ground, clutching their sides.
*Crack!*
Finally, blood splattered as the last warrior, the oldest one, was struck in the head by No-sak's iron staff. He clutched his head and fell to the ground.
The scene was cleared in less time than it took to draw a breath.
The bandaged owner of the Muryeong textile shop could only blink, watching the fight that had ended in an instant.
He had never imagined that Cheol-muk and No-sak, who had taken down those intimidatingly large warriors as easily as breathing, were such skilled masters.
'As expected of the Yeomhwa Family...'
*Crack!*
*Crunch!*
Ignoring the four fallen warriors, No-sak and Cheol-muk cracked their necks from side to side, warming up.
"Let's begin."
"Yes, brother."
At that moment, the same question popped into the minds of both the Muryeong and Cheongmu shop owners.
'Begin...'
'what?'
The owner of the Cheongmu Textile Shop, a master affiliated with the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild, was so stunned by the swift turn of events that he couldn't even intervene, merely staring blankly at the scene.
And then, the eyes of both shop owners began to widen.
*Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!*
"This son of a bitch!"
"You said something about our ugly mugs? Fine! I'll make sure not even your parents can recognize yours!"
*Whump! Smack! Whump! Smack!*
"Gak!"
"Guhk!"
"St-stop... Agh!"
"Stop! Please! Gack!"
Cheol-muk stomped on them mercilessly, while No-sak swung his iron staff wide.
At first, the four warriors tried to block the kicks and the staff with their hands, but soon they could only curl into balls and endure the beating.
*Snap!*
*Crunch!*
The sound of ribs and limbs breaking snapped the Cheongmu shop owner out of his stupor. He unleashed his lightness technique and charged forward.
Pulling two daggers from his robes, he got behind Cheol-muk, who was in the middle of a kick, and thrust them forward.
!!!
*Clang!*
"This bastard is using killing techniques now?"
Cheol-muk, who had somehow blocked the attack, scowled fiercely.
*Grab.*
Cheol-muk grabbed his opponent's neck and shoved him backward.
The shop owner, his neck in a vice grip, was pushed back without being able to lift a finger.
*Crash!*
As Cheol-muk shoved him all the way into the Cheongmu Textile Shop, a continuous series of crashing sounds erupted from within.
*Shatter!*
*Crash!*
Soon after, he was thrown out of the shop, covered in blood. He trembled and tried to push himself up.
*Thud! Thwack!*
But before he could get up, Cheol-muk rushed forward and kicked him in the face.
Yellowed teeth flew from his mouth as the Cheongmu shop owner collapsed to the ground.
"You damn dogs!"
Cheol-muk spat the words at his unconscious opponent, his anger still not sated.
"Waaaaaaaaaah!!!"
As the commotion began, merchants from the textile street, who had been peeking out one by one to assess the situation, had now gathered in a crowd to watch.
When the Cheongmu Textile Shop was wrecked and its owner lay defeated on the ground, a thunderous cheer erupted from them.
No-sak, who had produced a rope from somewhere, began to tie the men together.
Then, the two of them dragged the men away.
For a while, the cheers of the textile street merchants followed them.
"We have returned, Young Master."
Mujin looked down at the five unconscious warriors tied together in a line and shook his head.
"Aren't they all dead?"
"No, sir. They're still breathing."
"And why is that one's face smashed in? Did he call you ugly or something?"
"..."
"..."
At Mujin's question, Cheol-muk and No-sak didn't answer, just stared at the innocent floor.
"Well, good job. As long as they're breathing, it doesn't matter."
"Ughhhh..."
"A... a physician..."
One by one, the warriors began to regain consciousness.
The youngest warrior, who was in the best shape, quickly assessed the situation and spoke up.
"D-do you think you can get away with this?"
Hearing the words of the man, who was relatively unscathed aside from a few broken ribs, Mujin smiled.
"Why would I be afraid of third-rate warriors with no backing like you?"
At Mujin's words, the warrior who had spoken gave a smirk.
"Hmph! The Cheonghwa Merchant Guild is behind us! You bastards are now..."
"Thut... thut up..."
The gleefully chattering warrior trailed off at the words of the man who had been acting as the Cheongmu shop owner, the one whose teeth had all been knocked out.
"I think he's telling you to shut up."
Mujin crouched in front of the warrior whose teeth were all gone, blood and sticky saliva endlessly drooling from his mouth.
"Too late now, isn't it?"
"..."
"You know who I am, don't you?"
At Mujin's question, the warrior clamped his mouth shut and refused to answer.
"No-sak."
"Yes, Young Master!"
"This bastard isn't ready to talk. Get him ready."
"Yes, sir! Ptui! Ptui!"
Spitting on his hands, No-sak gripped his iron staff tightly and raised it.
"I'm ready. I'm very ready."
"Good. Your pronunciation has improved a lot. I'll ask again. You know who I am, right?"
The man looked up at Mujin with a fearful expression for a moment, then nodded.
"Then you must know what's going to happen next, right?"
"Yeth..."
"Then go and tell them. You started this, so tell them to look forward to it."
"...It won't be eathy."
"Only vulgar merchants like you pick easy fights. We martial families don't distinguish between battles we can win and battles we can lose."
*Thwack!*
With those last words, Mujin kicked the warrior in the head.
Watching him fall unconscious, Mujin spoke.
"Throw them out."
"Yes, sir!"
No-sak and Cheol-muk replied and dragged the bound men out of the merchant guild.
Dragged across the ground, they groaned incessantly, but no one came to their aid.
Once the warriors from the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild were dragged away, Pung Gwan-o, Hwang Yeo-cheong, and Dong Gwan-yeo appeared.
"The first part of the plan was a success."
Mujin nodded at the words of Pung Gwan-o, the head of the Pungyang Merchant Guild.
"Now that we have our justification, let's start by unblocking the flow of money."
At Mujin's words, the three of them nodded, their faces brightening.
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